Saturday, August 27, 2011

Am I the only person on earth who didn't know you could make Dulce de Leche by simply simmering a can of sweetened condensed milk? It's the perfect camping recipe and so delicious, you won't believe it!

Put a can of sweetened, condensed milk in a pot of room temperature water (not boiling, or the can might explode) and bring to a vigorous simmer. Simmer for three hours.

After three hours, pop open the top and you have a perfect, creamy container of Dulce de Leche. Good on ice cream, pound cake, a plain cookie or *shh* right off the spoon.

Be still my heart.

And shout-out to my mother-in-law, Judy Valentine, who showed me the way AND cooked up the Dulce de Leche in the photo above.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The campfire is the heart of the camping experience. There you are, in the woods, under a starry sky, surrounded by your favorite people. It just makes sense to burst into song!

With kids, singing in a group doesn't always happen naturally. The trick to piquing their interest is to choose songs they sort of know—ones with repetitive choruses, so they can sing along. And a lot of the songs should be fun, too.

Our list is pretty dorky, but these happen to be the songs our kids are willing to to sing, and that's good enough for us!

What's more fitting than this old folk song when you're camping in one of our beautiful national parks? We had an illustrated book of this song, and our oldest kid memorized the whole thing, even the last couple of verses that don’t exactly scan, so we sing the whole darn thing.

Chorus:

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

Chorus

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

Chorus

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

Chorus

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

Chorus

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Chorus

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

Chorus

2. You're a Grand Old Flag

by George M. Cohan

A short one that’s easy to learn.

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

3. I Like Bananas

One from Pete’s childhood. He taught the kids this when they were really little. For some reason they never get tired of it.

This is to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, sort of. (“My eyes have seen the glory …”)

I like bananas, coconuts, and grapes!

I like bananas, coconuts, and grapes!

I like bananas, coconuts and grapes!

That's why they call me (yelling) Tarzan of the Apes!

Repeat many, many times.

4. My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

Traditional Scottish Folk Song

My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me

Chorus:

Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Bonnie to me

Last night as I lay on my pillow
Last night as I lay on my bed
Last night as I lay on my pillow
I dreamt that my Bonnie was dead

Chorus

Oh blow the winds o'er the ocean
And blow the winds o'er the sea
Oh blow the winds o'er the ocean
And bring back my Bonnie to me

Chorus

The winds have blown over the ocean
The winds have blown over the sea
The winds have blown over the ocean
And brought back my Bonnie to me

5. Hey-Ho Nobody Home

Traditional English song probably dating back to the 1600’s, usually sung by Christmas carollers.

Hey ho, nobody home

Meat nor drink nor money have I none

Yet I will be merry

Hey ho, nobody home

Repeat a lot.

6. The Happy Wanderer also known as Valderi, Valdera

Words and music by Friedrich W. Möller and Antonia Ridge

We sang this with our grade school music teacher, Mrs. Zades, in the all-purpose room at Scarborough School. We liked the laughing part of the chorus and she let us get a little crazy when we sang it.

I love to go a-wandering

Along the mountain track

And as I go, I love to sing

My knapsack on my back

Chorus:

Val-der-ri, val-der-ra

Val-der-ra, val-der-ha ha ha ha ha ha

Val-der-ri, val-der-ra

(My knapsack on my back) – repeat last line of each verse with chorus

I wave my hat to all I meet

And they wave back at me

And blackbirds call so loud and clear

From every greenwood tree

Chorus

Oh, may I go a-wandering

Until the day I die

And may I always laugh and sing

Beneath God's clear blue sky

Chorus

7. I'm a NutThe origins of this song are unknown but it goes back to at least the 40’s, so maybe vaudeville.

Everybody sings this a little bit differently - this is how I learned it.

I'm a little acorn round

Sitting on the cold cold ground

Everybody steps on me

That is why I'm cracked you see

I'm a nut (tsk tsk), in a rut (tsk tsk), I'm crazy

Called myself on the telephone

Just to see if I was home

Took myself to the picture show

Sat myself in the very first row

Wrapped my arms around my waist

Got so fresh I slapped my face!

I'm a nut (tsk tsk), in a rut (tsk tsk), I'm crazy

8. Molly Malone, also known as Cockles and Mussels
Popular Irish tune from the 1800s.

In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty,

I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,

As she wheeled her wheel barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, Oh!

Chorus:

Alive, alive, Oh!

Alive, alive, Oh!

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, Oh!

She was a fishmonger, but it sure was no wonder,

For so were her father and mother before,

And they each pushed their wheel barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, Oh!

Chorus

She died of a fever, and no one could save her,

And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone;

Her ghost wheels her barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, Oh!

Chorus

9. Daisy

Words and Music by Henry Dacre, 1892

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do.
I'm half crazy all for the love of you.
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage;
But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built
for two.

Henry, Henry, this is my answer true:
I'm not crazy over the likes of you.
If you can't afford a carriage,
Forget about the marriage;
I won't be jammed,
I won't be crammed
On a bicycle built for two.

10. Edelweiss

Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein

A number from The Sound of Music. It comes across as a real traditional song, though, and some people think it is.

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever.

11. On Top of Spaghetti

This annoying song makes my kids laugh, so we sing it.

On top of spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door.

It rolled in the garden,
And under a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush.

The mush was as tasty
As tasty could be,
And then the next summer,
It grew into a tree.

The tree was all covered,
All covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs,
And tomato sauce.

So if you eat spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatball,
Whenever you sneeze.

What make the landlord take money?
Why, oh why, oh why?
I don't know that one myself.
Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

Why's there no pennies for ice cream
Why, oh why, oh why?
You put all the pennies in the telephone.
Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

Why can't a rabbit chase an eagle?
Tell me why, oh why?
'Cause the last rabbit that took out and chased after an eagle didn't come
out so good and that's why rabbits don't chase after eagles that's all I
know about rabbits and eagles?

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Am I the only one who looks at this photo of an egg cooked in a bed of bacon in a paper bag and thinks it is possibly the most delicious-looking thing in the world? In fact, I think the photo above is a tad blurry because my hands were shaking in anticipation of eating my creation, and having to fight the children off at the same time. Back! Back!

Mmm. Paper Bag Eggs. My non-camping friends may think it odd that I obsess over ways to cook an egg without a pan, but don't they know that one could be stuck in the wilderness at any moment with nothing but a dozen perfectly unscathed eggs and a paper bag? It could happen!

Another benefit of the Paper Bag Egg is that, whilst cooking, it can burst into flames at any moment and children really enjoy this.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Dinner’s over and the kids are zipped into the tent with their flashlights and books. The sun is setting and the grownups are enjoying a cup of wine by the fire. That's when it hits you: Oh, yeah. This is why I love camping.

Because camping isn't just the packing and unpacking, the cooking and tidying, the planning and the doing. Camping is a state of mind. I guess for some people it looks like a lot of trouble to go to for the honor of getting dirty, sleeping on the ground and using public toilets. But it's totally worth it, and here are ten reasons why:

1. Being outdoors 24/7 is good for your head.

Most of us spend a lot of time indoors, so being outside for a few days feels really different. It’s as though the roof and walls are taken away from our poor, boxed-in brains as well as our bodies. It’s good.

2. Nothing tastes better than food you cook and eat outdoors.

There’s probably a scientific reason why food tastes better outdoors – your senses are more receptive or something like that. All I know is that even a spoonful of peanut butter tastes delicious when you’re camping. And when you sit down to eggs and hash for breakfast, it's just about the best thing in the world.

3. You really do get away from it all.

Even the most addicted cell phone users will eventually succumb to the lure of the campfire and wander away from their devices. And when you’re not continually connected to email, FaceBook and Twitter, you connect instead to nature, your family ... your soul, for crying out loud. You can return all those calls on Monday. Just sit back and listen to the crickets chirp. Do they really rub their legs together? Discuss and debate.

4. You can be genuinely spontaneous when you’re camping.

With nothing in particular planned except maybe making a grilled cheese sandwich, it’s easy to be spontaneous. Would you like to take a nature walk and check out the trails? Sure, why not? Watch the kids play in the dirt? That sounds like a plan.

5. It’s a chance to make up your own traditions.

You will remember your camping trips forever, and the kids will remember them forever and ever! A big part of this is the peculiar family traditions that seem to sprout up and stick. (We like campfire songs and somehow always start off with “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” Long story.) The easiest traditions of all are food traditions – so go ahead and make Eggs in a Bag, Spider Dogs and, of course, S’Mores. And make up some of your own camping foods and give them fun names.

Lot 42, somewhere in New Jersey

6. Mistakes are funny when you’re camping.

As long as you’re not setting up your tent at night in a mosquito swarm (like we once did), camping mistakes are usually more hilarious than they are annoying. Maybe it’s because you’re not in such a hurry to get to work or get the kids off to school, so it doesn’t seem like such a big deal when you:

• Forget to bring a skillet (there are so many ways to cook an egg without a pan. Try this one.)

It’s a lot easier to explain to your kids why recycling is important, or littering is bad when you have a thousand acres of open woods on hand as an example… And such lessons as, “leave the campsite cleaner than when you came” apply to all kinds of situations in life—don’t you think?

8. Grownups get to be pioneers and adventurers.

Some of us (me) like to pretend we’re Laura Ingalls Wilder in Little House on the Prairie (with a station wagon). More serious campers head into the wild to try their hands at surviving with a minimum of food and gear. Either way, it’s pleasing to think that, like our forefathers and foremothers, we might possibly have it together enough to survive in the wild.

9. You reconnect with your spouse.

With nothing much to do but hang out and chit chat in a beautiful, natural setting, there is a moment in every camping trip when one thinks, “Oh, I remember you” about one’s spouse. And every day of camping provides a small adventure to be discussed at great length, which is a lot more fun than discussing bills and grocery shopping.

10. Sitting around a campfire with your favorite people is an experience that everyone should have at least once.

The campfire is the heart of the camping experience. Gather together your friends and family, add a beautiful, starry night and a blazing fire and you've got just about everything you need in the world.

If you want to get everything you can out of the summer, consider this: camping is cheap, fun and space is available—check http://www.reserveamerica.com for the nearest, best place… and get out and go!

Monday, August 1, 2011

I was standing by the camp stove one day with a nearly-full bottle of curry powder in one hand and a crusty, old spatula in the other. "Want a curried grilled cheese sandwich?" I asked my seven year old. "OK," he said. "But just a little curry, OK?" "Sure," I said."Just a little." and then I dumped about a truckload of curry onto his sandwich.

You can guess the rest! He loved it! He loved his yummy, weird, super-curried grilled cheese sandwich! And I got to eat the crusts.

The secret to this festive and slightly fancy sandwich is that curry, while flavorful, isn't very hot-spicy. And melted cheese - delicious, bland melted cheese - is the perfect vehicle for the curry. It's personality without the aggression. And really, what's better than that?